HAMILTON is a sleepy city of some 132,000 souls, according to The Lonely Planet guide book. There are various attractions, but the main activity for the locals is V8 saloon car racing up and down the main thoroughfare, Victoria Street. This takes place most nights until the early hours without any intervention from the local police. It is like being an unwilling visitor on the set of The Dukes of Hazzard.

A short distance away lies Seddon Park, where the opening Test is taking place and where it seems some other engines still require tuning, notably those of Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard. Neither has had a happy game. Hoggard has admitted being one game behind schedule. Harmison has given a candid interview in which he defended his decision to delay his pretour preparations, staying behind to be present at the birth of his fourth child, in one breath averring that his family are his main priority and in the next that the most important thing is playing for England - a good career statement. That balance is proving tricky.

I find it hard to fault a man for putting his family first, and those who know Harmison well will say that he is a lovely man with a truly caring nature. He has made what he calls some “decisions in life”, one of which, to abandon one-day international cricket, was designed to give him his best chance to prosper in Test cricket. It is via Test cricket that his career as an international sportsman is extant, but he does not seem to recognise what is required to sustain it.

Planning a family is never easy. When it coincides with a time of preparation for a short three-match Test tour, it does strain loyalties. Before the Sri Lanka tour Harmison was able to go to South Africa and get some bowling under his belt, with obvious benefits. He has been unable to do so before this trip and his place in the team is under severe pressure. Even if one allows for a pitch that counts as the least Harmison-friendly in the world, it has not looked good.

We have been here before all too recently. In November 2006 in Australia Harmison’s opening Ashes delivery set the tone for the next couple of months. Only in the closing moments of that series did he bowl with the venom that makes him good. Here in New Zealand, I do not think the selectors can wait that long.

It was fascinating asking three of my colleagues in the commentary box what they would be inclined to do with Harmison. Nasser Hussain, Mike Atherton and David Lloyd all agreed that they would not drop him for the second Test, while at the same time concurring that the management should be issuing last-chance warnings. The team can’t afford to wait for him to find form. This is a short series and an important one. Even if the pitch in Wellington for the next match offers the bowlers more, one has to consider who might get more out of it. Harmison has two things going for him when in form: pace and bounce. This pitch has denied him bounce, but he has just not generated any pace.

If the Basin Reserve looks as though it is going to “do a bit”, then England are probably better off fielding Stuart Broad, who is more geared to bowling at Harmison’s current pace and might hit the right spot more often. Unfortunately, it seems Harmison has become a luxury suited only to certain specific locations such as Old Trafford, the main ground at which he enjoys consistent success.

I do not yet have a concern about Hoggard. One will keep an eye on him to search for signs that he is peaking, but his record of consistency over the past few years and the knowledge that he is a persistent trier make it easier to gloss over the poor figures of this match. His stunning athletic catch that sparked the beginning of New Zealand’s collapse on the fourth day suggests that his body is moving rather well, and one would back him to improve on his bowling performance with his next outing.